Raven's Eye

The Heiltsuk First Nation on B.C.’s Central Coast wants the sac roe herring fishery in their territory closed for conservation reasons. But Fisheries and Oceans Canada opened the fishery March 22 despite concerns. Heiltsuk said the move violates their constitutional rights.

A tentative land-exchange agreement has been reached between the government of British Columbia and Westbank First Nation. The Nation had given reserve land to the province in 2009 to construct the Westside Rd. Interchange, and the province agreed to provide replacement lands. The package of lands and cash now under consideration includes four parcels of Crown or private land and $1.5 million…

The Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations helped bless a 250-metre-long panel of murals to mark the anticipated completion of the $138-million cleanup of 17 acres of contaminated land and seabed at Rock Bay. It’s been an 11-year-long job and, upon completion, four acres of the site will be sold to the Nations. While they don’t have specific plans for the downtown lands, the goal, they say, is…

Bill C-51, the anti-terrorism act, has gone to the House of Commons, but one B.C. Indigenous leader is warning that the bill “will radically and dangerously expand the powers of Canada’s national security agencies and greatly infringe upon the rights of all citizens without making us any safer or secure.”

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said the…

British Columbia will buy Grace Islet, the site of at least 16 First Nations burial cairns, from the private owner at a cost of $5.45 million. Barry Slawsky, who started to build a retirement home on the property, will receive $850,000 for the land and the rest for costs incurred over two decades by the landowner “and his lost opportunity for future enjoyment of the property,” a government…

February 18 was an emotional day for the survivors of St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Alert Bay as a special ceremony was held to mark the beginning of the demolition of the building. National First Nations leaders and Anglican Church representatives joined the former students and community members at the demolition site.

A new Aboriginal component will be part of this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.

The 18th annual event will run from Feb. 13 to Feb. 21.

For the first time, the festival will include a storytelling series. This part of the festival, held in conjunction with the Vancouver Society of Storytelling, will feature 12 speakers who will take audience members on a…

A new Aboriginal component will be part of this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.

The 18th annual event will run from Feb. 13 to Feb. 21.

For the first time, the festival will include a storytelling series. This part of the festival, held in conjunction with the Vancouver Society of Storytelling, will feature 12 speakers who will take audience members on a…

Pull Together, a grassroots campaign to raise funds for six First Nations to challenge Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, has been so successful organizers are increasing their goal from $250,000 to $300,000 by December 31. As of Nov. 17, the fund had grown to $218,000. “The Pull Together campaign is driven by people who care and are politically astute,” said kil tlaats ‘gaa Peter Lantin,…

The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations have launched a legal challenge of the Site C dam project. Both are located in Alberta and have joined with nations in the northeastern part of B.C. in their opposition to the dam which will be built by BC Hydro on the Peace River. Treaty 8 First Nations in B.C. filed a judicial review of Site C, saying the ministry of the Environment didn…

The Specific Claims Tribunal’s 2014 Annual Report was made public Nov. 14 and warned that understaffing and underfunding will impair the tribunal to function. The Specific Claims Tribunal was established to make final and binding decisions on specific land.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, is not impressed with the ruling Conservative government…

A New Brunswick First Nation says it needs $500,000 to repair roads, but the province isn’t listening, saying the problem is a federal responsibility. Chief David Peter-Paul of the Pabineau First Nation says he spoke with provincial officials many times and has shown them the conditions of the road, but the province isn’t offering up any money. “Anyone who has travelled through the Pabineau…

British Columbia has developed a new online tool for businesses to help them prepare to tap into the “generational opportunities” that will be driven by the Liquefied Natural Gas industry. B.C. wants businesses large and small to be ready “and profile their goods and services to proponents and their contractors when the first Final Investment Decision is reached. Businesses create online…

As the National Energy Board continues to hear oral presentations about the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline to Burnaby, B.C., First Nations on all sides of the Salish Sea are pressing forward with an intertribal treaty to protect their waters from oil tankers.

On Nov. 9, backers of the International Treaty to Protect the Salish Sea — launched in late…